AP National Sports

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner returns to a Russian court Thursday amid a growing chorus of calls for Washington to do more to secure her release nearly five months after she was arrested on drug charges. Griner was detained in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cody Bellinger scored the winning run on Mookie Betts’ infield single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies 2-1 to complete a three-game sweep. Dodgers starter Mitch White and three relievers combined to allow only

By JACK THOMPSON Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Austin Slater hit a tiebreaking bases-loaded double in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants rallied from an early four-run deficit, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 and snapping a six-game skid. Darin Ruf’s two-run pinch homer off Joe Mantiply (1-2) in the eighth tied the game

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu had 31 points in the highest-scoring triple-double in WNBA history and tied Candace Parker’s league record of three triple-doubles in the New York Liberty’s 116-107 victory over Las Vegas on Wednesday night. Ionescu also had 13 rebounds and 10 assists. She hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in eight tries

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A global athletic competition is starting in Birmingham, Alabama, after a yearlong delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening ceremony for the World Games 2022 is set for Thursday night at Protective Stadium. It will kick off 10 days of competition in nearly 40 sports around the metro area with

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks hit grand slams as the New York Yankees drilled the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-0. Judge became the first Yankees player to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break twice when he turned on a pitch from reliever Manny Banuelos in the

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Whit Merrifield, Hunter Dozier and Emmanuel Rivera all homered as the Kansas City Royals roughed up Cristian Javier early and held on for a 7-4 win over the Houston Astros. The Astros’ major league-best eight-game winning streak was snapped. Javier had allowed one hit in 14

By JEFF WALLNER Associated Press CINCINNATI (AP) — Brandon Nimmo’s three-run homer capped a five-run 10th inning and the New York Mets came from behind late to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-3. Starling Marte grounded an RBI double over third base off Hunter Strickland with one out in the ninth, scoring Nimmo from first to

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Josh Giddey had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, No. 2 selection Chet Holmgren added 11 points and 12 rebounds and Oklahoma City beat Memphis 87-71 on Wednesday night for the Thunder’s second straight victory in the Salt Lake City Summer League. Also, Charles Bassey had 17 points, Trevelin

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Argentinian giants River Plate and Boca Juniors are out of this season’s Copa Libertadores despite being favorites in their round-of-16 matches. Their exits hand the favorite status to Brazilian teams which have dominated the soccer tournament in recent years and look strong to lift the

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — They shared laughs, smiles, memories. There also were tears, fears, unease. Through the range of emotions, one common thread bonded them together: Brittney Griner. Wearing “BG” shirts and holding signs, several hundred fans gathered for a public rally in support of Griner on Wednesday, hoping their

By MAUREEN MULLEN Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Corey Kluber worked six scoreless innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Red Sox 7-1 in the major league debut of Brayan Bello, the top pitching prospect in Boston’s system. The 23-year-old Bello worked four up-and-down innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored nine of her season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 85-66 on Wednesday night. Delle Donne was 10 of 17 from the field and had eight rebounds. Myisha Hines-Allen added 14 points, Natasha Cloud had 13, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey are returning to the Los Angeles Clippers after the team re-signed both free agents. Batum averaged 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists while starting 54 of 59 games last season. He shot 40% from 3-point range. Batum is one of eight NBA players with 10,000

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Josiah Gray struck out a career-high 11 and the last-place Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2. Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs for the second straight night for the Phillies. Schwarber’s two homers off Gray increased his NL-best total to 27. Only New York Yankees

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls have signed veteran center Andre Drummond, adding a two-time All-Star and four-time rebounding champion. The team also re-signed backup forward Derrick Jones Jr. The 28-year-old Drummond has averaged 13.8 points and 13.3 rebounds over 10 seasons with Detroit, Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. He figures to

MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani allowed one unearned run in seven dominant innings and had the go-ahead hit in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night. The reigning AL MVP won his fifth consecutive start, limiting the Marlins to two hits. Ohtani walked three and struck out 10 before

By TODD KARPOVICH Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Spenser Watkins pitched more than six innings for the first time in his career, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 2-1 for their first three-game sweep of the season. Watkins allowed one run and four hits with three strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings in his

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario hit back-to-back homers, Max Fried threw six strong innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the slumping St. Louis Cardinals 3-0. Fried and the Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas each threw four scoreless innings before Ozuna led off the fifth with his 17th homer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild re-signed defenseman Jake Middleton to a three-year, $7.35 million contract Wednesday. The 26-year-old Canadian split last season between San Jose and Minnesota, joining the Wild on March 21 in a trade for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round selection this year. Middleton had three goals and six